Medications for Diabetes - Insulin

If you have Type 1 diabetes, your body doesn't make insulin which helps sugar from food be turned into energy. If you have Type 2 diabetes, your pancreas does not make enough insulin and your body can't use it properly. Sometimes, eating a healthy diet and getting enough exercise will control Type 2 Diabetes. Sometimes, your doctor will give you medication. However, diabetes medications that lower blood sugar never, never take the place of healthy eating and exercise. Some people, after a few years of taking oral medication, will need to begin taking insulin.

Insulin

How it works
Insulin lowers blood sugar by moving sugar from the blood into the cells of your body. Once inside the cells, sugar provides energy. If you take insulin, you'll need to eat on time and match your insulin injections to your meals. Your insulin should peak at the same time blood sugar levels from meals are also peaking.
Work with your health care team to establish a meal plan and to work out how to take your insulin in relation to your meals. It's important to plan for those 'what if' situations that come up and to know what to do. A few basic tips include:

• Remember, you need some insulin in your body all of the time.
• You need some insulin before you eat a meal. Match the dose to the estimated amount of carbohydrates in the meal. Your diabetes educator can show you how.
• You may need additional insulin to lower your blood sugar if it is high sometimes.
• By testing your blood sugar at least four times a day, you'll have the knowledge you need to moderate your insulin, activity and eating so that your blood sugar is under good control.

A rough guideline to remember is that one unit of insulin lowers blood sugar by 50 mg/dL and covers about 10 to 15 grams of carbohydrate. How often?
Most people with diabetes need at least two insulin shots a day for good blood sugar control. Some people take three or four shots a day to have a more flexible plan.

When to take?
You should take insulin 30 minutes before a meal if you take regular insulin alone or with a longer-acting insulin. If you take lispro (Humalog), or insulin aspart (Novolog), two insulins that works really fast, you should take your shot just before you eat.